The Viennese Waltz(116)
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Archduke Leo had enjoyed the chat with Dr. Faust and Judy, though he had found Gabrielle Ugolini’s monomaniacal focus on biochemistry a bit wearing. On the other hand, Dr. Faust seemed entranced by the girl. He would leave the doctor to her tender graces and look in on the glider that Faust was building another time. Besides, he would rather see the thing than talk about it.
By now some of the mystical charm of the beautiful Judith Wendell von Up-time had worn off. He had been thinking about her since she arrived. She was very pretty and vibrant in a very attractive way. But as the day wore on the almost spiritual image he had of her began to get a bit frayed around the edges. She was, frankly, less well-informed on a number of matters than Leo had expected. “I just ride the things when I need to go somewhere fast,” she’d said. “I don’t need to know how to build them. That’s someone else’s job.”
That comment, along with several others where Judy Wendell admitted ignorance of finance, chemistry, engineering, politics and a host of other fields. She was still very attractive and he was intrigued by her, but he was much less in awe of her as the day wore on. He was watching the pairing up. Dr. Faust was completely enraptured by the chemist Ugolini and Pfeifer by the one down-timer to make her way onto the BarbieCo stock certificates.
The mechanic’s daughter seemed quite taken with young Amadeus, and Julian was following the Barclay girl around. Leo smiled. There was something about the way her calves moved when she was doing that tap dancing that was quite enticing.
Even Moses seemed relaxed. He and Susan were discussing the roast beef, which was kosher. There was a small Jewish contingent at Race Track City. Apparently a kosher delicatessen was one of the businesses that the up-timers had helped to finance. Because, according to Susan Logsden, the kosher practices got you part way to up-time sanitary practices.
Leo looked over at Márton von Debrecen and the tall young woman in slacks in time to see the woman toss a stick out onto the river.
Márton held up a hand, then called out, “Everyone, be at ease. Vicky and I are settling a bet.” The others all looked their way, and suddenly Vicky dropped her purse and fired her pistol, hitting the stick that had floated downriver. At least, Leo thought she had hit it. The splash had certainly moved it, but it was still in one piece.
“Fine,” Márton said. “I’ll grant that was a hit and a very fast draw,” but still he put his Cardinal to his shoulder and after a quick sighting, fired. Now the stick was in two pieces, carefully bisected in the center. Then Vicky fired again and one of the pieces was bisected. Then, while Márton was still reloading, she fired a third time, this time missing the other piece. But not by much. If it had been a man, he would have been hit.
“Oh, no!” Judy complained theatrically “Vicky’s found another gun nut.” Everyone laughed, mostly at Judy’s tone.
“Connoisseur!” Vicky corrected. “A gun connoisseur.”
Judy put her face in her hands, histrionically, then laughed. “Fine, but go downriver a little way, so we can hear ourselves think while you assault innocent trees.”
Márton looked up. “You know that’s an excellent idea. Your Grace, may we borrow your boat for an hour or so?”
Leo was surprised at the request. Still, it was more than a year since Polyxena had been executed by Maximilian of Bavaria. He looked at the girl again, noting that she was the one on the twelve groschen note. She probably wasn’t after his money. And as for his title, he had effectively bought it. “Certainly, Count. Enjoy yourselves.”
As it happened, Rudolph and Millicent went with Márton and Vicky, so propriety was mostly observed.
They spent the afternoon nibbling and chatting. All the while, Leo watched Judy. She was amazingly graceful and the sun shone on her auburn hair. Her short sleeves showed her arms to advantage. She had a wide smile that no painting could capture. It lit her face and seemed most inviting. Leo was more and more anxious as the day wore on to accept that invitation.
His eyes were drawn to her when, three hours later, the boat got back, and they trooped aboard to head back to Race Track City. Leo’s eyes were captured by the motion of her bottom as she climbed the gangplank.
On reaching Race Track City, as the girls were disembarking, Leo grabbed Judy Wendell and pulled her in for a quick kiss, more in the way of a promise of things to come than any—
Suddenly he was bent over, with his gonads screaming at him, and from what seemed a very long way away, he heard Judy Wendell saying, “I am not one of those cases where it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. I do hope you will remember that in the future.” Then she turned and walked away. Down the gangplank, one of the guards made a move to stop her, but there was Vicky Emerson with her gun out, not pointed at anyone right now, but that could change in an instant, as she had demonstrated that afternoon. All this was no more than peripheral to Archduke Leo’s universe, which was still quite concentrated on the pain emanating from his groin.